In the annals of history, the subjugation of India by the English through the East India Company stands as one of the most telling examples of colonial exploitation.
The tale is well-known: a foreign power, under the guise of trade and mutual benefit, gradually tightened its grip, ultimately leading to a systematic erosion of sovereignty, culture, and self-determination.
Today, as Scotland navigates its complex relationship with England, one cannot help but draw unsettling parallels between the two nations’ histories.
The East India Company began as a commercial venture, ostensibly a benign force interested in trade and prosperity.
But as its influence grew, so did its power over India.
What started as a business enterprise soon morphed into a political behemoth, with the Company’s private armies enforcing its will and quelling resistance.
The economic exploitation that followed drained India’s wealth, leaving its people impoverished while English coffers swelled.
Scotland, while never colonised in the same manner as India, faces a subtler yet strikingly similar predicament.
The Union with England, entered into more than three centuries ago, was presented as a partnership of equals.
Over time, however, the balance of power shifted overwhelmingly in favour of England.
Decisions made in Westminster often reflect English interests, with Scottish voices struggling to be heard.
The recent debates over Brexit and Scottish independence have brought these tensions into sharp relief, revealing the extent to which Scotland’s fate is tied to the will of another nation.
The economic parallels are also hard to ignore.
Just as the East India Company siphoned off India’s wealth, modern-day policies from London have often left Scotland on the short end of the stick.
The control of Scotland’s natural resources, such as oil and gas, has long been a contentious issue, with many arguing that Scotland’s wealth is being exploited for the benefit of the wider UK, much as India’s resources were exploited centuries ago.
Culturally, too, there are echoes of the past.
The suppression of Indian culture under British rule was a deliberate attempt to erode national identity and impose a foreign one.
In Scotland, the dominance of English culture and media often overshadows Scottish traditions and languages.
While the scale and nature of this cultural overshadowing differ, the end result is a familiar one: a feeling of being a nation within a nation, struggling to assert its unique identity.
Perhaps the most poignant parallel, however, lies in the spirit of resistance.
India’s struggle for independence was long and arduous, marked by a growing realisation that only through self-rule could the nation truly flourish.
Scotland, too, is witnessing a resurgence of national consciousness, with increasing calls for independence reflecting a desire for self-determination and a break from the past.
History, it is often said, repeats itself, and the story of Scotland under English rule bears an uncanny resemblance to that of India under the East India Company.
While the contexts and circumstances differ, the underlying themes of exploitation, loss of sovereignty, and the quest for self-rule remain strikingly similar.
As Scotland charts its future, it would do well to remember the lessons of the past and recognise that the road to true independence may be long, but it is one that many nations have walked before.
